Bottle-transfer apparatus



Patented June 25, 1929..

'NITED STATES rilasci PATENT OFFICE.

LEONARD D. SOUBIER, F TOLEDO, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE OWENS BOTTLE COMPANY, 0F TOLEDO, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

BOTTLE-TRANSFER APPARATUS.

Application mea 'March 22, 192s. serial No. 96,496.

This invention relates to improvements in bottle Itransfer apparatus, the primary object beingto provide meansfor minlmlzmg injury to bottles or other similar ware d uring transfer ot' the latter Jfrom a tormmg machine to an annealing oven or leer by way oi' a ware carrier element of a leer charging mechanism, it being understood that such ware at this si age of production is hot and in 1U a sott, plastic condition and consequently easily distorted or marred.

il; further object is to provide means 1nterposed in the path ot travelot ware be tween a mold carriage or the like, and a ware carrier element for momentarily arresting the transfer movement o t Ware and then conveying the latter to a point in proximity to and for discharge into the carrier element.

It is also an object ot the present invention to provide means forl rapidly traps terriug and at the same tnne 1 n1n1mizmg injury to bottles or the like during transfer from the mold carriage` to aware carrier element, actuation ot suchjmeans being et 'tected by the bottles or other ware being transferred.' f

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out hereinafter.

In the accompanyingdrawings: h

Fig. 1 is an elevation, partly in section, showing the relation of the mold carriage, are carrier element, and the improved transfer apparatus.

Fig. 2 .is a side elevation ot the arrester and its adjustable supporting members.` 4 Fig. 3 v shown in Fig. 2, but illustrating the manner in which the clapper sections ot' the arrester are expanded to discharge the bottle or other ware into the carrier.`

Fig; 4l is a side elevation showing the relation of the discharge chute and the arrester reciprocating mechanism'. l u

Fig. 5 is a detail elevation of the lower end of the discharge chute, showing the hinged gate in its lowermost position.

Figs. 6 and 7 are detail'views, partly in section, oi. the air flow controlv utilized 1n lowering'the arrester.

Fig. 8 is a detail elevation illustrating the manner in which the elements coact to efect is an end elevation of the elements return or raising of the arrester to its normal position.

Fig. 9 illustrates a modiiied form of arrester raising mechanism.

lVhile I have shown in the accompanying drawings a portion of a conventional torni of bottle blowing machine comprising a rotary mold carriage 10, and a well known form of intern'iittently shiftable ware carrier element 11, it is understood that other` preferred types may well be employed in connection with this improved transfer apparatus.

In the form of mold carriage illustrated, n'iechanism (not shown) is employed to intermittently eject the molded bottles or other -ware 19. from the mold 13 onto the adjacent end otpa discharge chute 14. In this connection, it will be noted that I have shown thischute as comprising an arcuate chamber, closed onall sides throughout a major portion oit its length and preferably, though not necessarily, rigidly supported upon, the base of the blowing machine by means Otan arm or bracket 15. i v. A

By reference to Figs. 1 and 5, 'it :will be noted that the wall 14 of the discharge chute 14, is extended downwardly to form 'ashield or guard 16 which coacts with a hinged gate 17 when the latter is in its lowermost position to insure accurate delivery of bottles or other ware from the chute to an arrester whose purpose and structure will be set forth. The gate 17 has fixed to the edge disposed in parallelism with and remote from the shield 1G, a journal 18 whose ends are mounted in bearings 19 :t'ormed onL the lower ends of arms depending from opposed sides ot the chute. L

Due to the tension ot a `pull spring 20, the gate 17 is normally yieldably retained in the full line or closed position shown in Fie. 1, in whip-h position it is adapted to be struck by `bottles or the like ware passing through the discharge chute, such engagement with the ware in turn causing oscillation Aor downward swinging of the gate to the position shown in Fig. 5. Such downward swinging of the gate 17 causes partial rotationv ot a cam 20 mountedv on one end of the aforementioned journal 18, this cam being adapted during its partial rotation to actuate a valve meehanism21 for' the purposev of allowing air or fluid pressure to operate a differential piston 22, which in turn reciprocates an arrester heretofore referred to.

In the vformation of what I term an arrester which is adapted to momentarily :1r-

rest or check-transfer movement of ware to the carrier 11 and thereby minimizev injury posed vfaees .to receive a slide member 25.

whose upper end is directed inwardly and adjustably connected to a horizontal, longitudinally extending arm 26. This last named'arm 26 is connected in any preferred manner `to the lower end ot a piston rod 27,

'the upper end of the latter being in turn fixed to the .lower end ot' the aforementioned differential piston 22. It willbe noted that longitudinal adjustability of the horizontal arm 26 permits accuraterelative positioning ot' the several elements.

' I integrally'form a ring or'collar-like frame l parent.l .The lower ends of these fingers 29y are provided with bearings 1nwhich are At the outerend of this horizontalarm 26,

28 having apair of depending fingers 29 which, as will be noted, are lbngltudmally aligned with the center of theware carrier element ll'for a purpose which will be apjournalled pintles 30 Arigidly mounting opposed co-acting clapper sections 31 whose edges 32 are normally disposed in proximity to 'each other andI in longitudinal alignment with the ware carrier 11. In this connection, it will be noted that when clapper sections lare in normal positions, a substantially frusto-eonical umt is formed, and that t e enlarged upper end of the complete unit extends slight-ly above the discharge end oi a funnel 33 which is mounted in the aforementioned frame 28. This-frusto-conical unit serves to arrest transfer of ware to 4the carrier element in an obvious manner.

With assumption of the dotted line position by the ware as shown in Fig. 1, the

arrester, including the. funnel 33 and clapper sections 311nove downwardly as a unit to the position shown in Fig. 3, and in order that discharge of the bottle or other ware into the vertically aligned pocket of the car-v rier element 11 may be effected, I mount upon each clapper section 31, a finger 34 which extends laterally ,with respect to the path of travel of the carrier element.

As will be noted by reference to Fig. 3, these fingers 34 contact with horizontally disposed portions 35 (Fig. 2) of stops 36 at av predetermined elevation, and by reason of this actionthe clapper sections are separatem.

thereby ejecting the ware to permit the latter to resume its independent travel to the carrier. Preferably, these stops 36 are in the form of. substantially inverted L shaped rods whose lower ends are threaded for vertical adjustment in brackets 37, and are held at any desired point by lock nuts or other suitable elements. By reason of the adjustability of these stops, the point ot' ejectmeut of the. warefl'rom the arrester may be readily varied and dil'erent sized ware lnay be accommodated.

While other forms of valve mechanism may be employed, l )referably mount upon 'an arm depending from a cylinder 22', a valve comprising a horizontally disposed body 38 which is arranged adjacent the cam 2() and spaced from the axis of the journal 18 to ,avdegree such as will perlnit partial rotation of the cam to effect longitudinal shiftigcf the valve 39.` This valve 39 extendsbeyond the opposite ends of the body 3 8 and carries a cross pin 40, which slide'sfrcelyin a slot 41 formed in the body 38 and-iin'a longitudinal slot 42 formed in a As will be noted by reference to Fig. 8, this link 43 is pivoted at its lower end to a depending arm' 44 carried by housing or body 38. A coil pull spring 45 interconnects the upper end of the link 43 and the lower end ot' said depending arm 44, and is designed to effect a quick snap movement of the valve 39 from one position to the other withA passing of dead center by the link.

Air conduits 46 and 47 lead' from opposite sides of the'valve body or housing 38 to lower and upper ends respectively of the .cylinder 22. A vconstant air pressure of a predetern'iined degree is exerted against the lower end of the piston 22 from the inlet 46 by way of the aforementioned conduit 46, in order that the arrester may be normally disposed in its uppermost position as shown in Figure 1.

lVith shifting of the valve 39 to the position shown in Fig. 7, the port 39 creates communication between the conduits 46 and 47, thereby providing air pressure in the upper end of the -cylinder to a degree corresponding to that in the lower end. Under these conditions, and due to the variance in the areas of the opposite ends of the piston 22 downward movement of the iston, piston rod and the arrester, will lle effected. At a predetermined point in the downward movement of the iston rod 27. a cam 27 carried by the rofl) will strike the adjacent end of the valve 39 and by reason of its eoaction with the forementioned spring v45, will effectpositive quick return of the valve mechanism to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 8, such positioning in turn causing upward movement of the arrester to its normal position as illustrated in Fig. 1. With positioning of the valve 39 as shown Assuming the elements Ato berelatively' disposed as show-n in Fig. l, la. bottle 12 or other' ware is ejected from themold I3 and passes neck first throughthe discharge chute la andstrikesthe hinged gate 17. Due to the weight oft the bottle, the hinged gate is swung down and in turn partially rotates the cam 20 to effect longitudinal shifting of the valve 39 to a position in which air pressure will cause downward movementlot the piston and. piston rod with the arrester. di ust prior to the initial downward movement ofthe piston and parts just mentioned, the bottle or other ware has reached the two clapper sections so that there is a momentary arrest or check of the transfer movement of the ware, immediately following which, `the arrester quickly moves with the ware to the lowermost position as shown in Fig. 3. In movement to this last named position,the stops 36 perform the function of separating the clapper sections 31 to allow e`ection otthe ware into one of the pockets o a carrier element. Due to the checking of the transiter movement of the bottle or other ware as above described, it is obvious that the shock ordinarily imparted to the ware because of the normal uninterrupted descent, will be materially reduced and consequently the liability of injury will be minimized. Also, because ot the quick action of the several elements and harmony of operation, etliciency is in no degree hampered.

In a modified form of apparatus as illustrated in Fig. 9, I eliminate the use of air pressure in the reciprocation of the arrester and substitute in lieu thereof a counterbalancing weight 48 which is connected to the arrester by means of a flexible element such as a cable 49 trained over pulleys or sheaves 50. This counterbalancing weight 48 normally holds the arrester in its uppermost position, but with entry of a bottle or other ware into the arrester, will allow the latter to move downwardly with and discharge the article into the ware carrier as in the preferred form.

Modilications of this invention may be resorted to within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

lthat I claim is:

1. The combination ot a ware forming machine, a traveling ware carrier element, a chute for directing the initial movement of ware discharged from the machine, a reciprocable frame between the chute and said carrier element-,a pair of coacting clapper sections pivoted to and depending from said frame to receive and momentarily check the movement of ware discharged from the chute, means for lowering said frame' and clappersections with'f the ware, fingers projecting laterally from the clapper sections and transversely of the pathof travel of the `carrier element, upstanding brackets arranged at transverselyaligned points with respect to the path of travel of the ware carrier element, and stops vertically adjustably mounted in the brackets and engageable with the fingers to effect separation of the -clapper sections at a predetermined elevation and discharge of :ware into the carrier element.

2. The combination of. a ware Jfarmingl machine, a Ware yc'arr'ier element,`a -chute for directing the initial movement' oii` ware discharged from the machine, a reciprocable arrester arranged between the chute and carrier element to catch and convey ware from a point below the chute to a point in proximity to the carrier element, means for discharging ware from the arrester to said element, pneumatic means for reciprocating the arrester, and a control for' said, pneumatie means arranged in the path of travel of the arrester and actuated by the latter.

3. In a transfer apparatus of the character described, a chute for directing the initial movement of ware to a leer carrier element, an open trame disposed horizontally at a point spaced below the discharge end of said chute, a depending funnel arranged in said frame, a pair of coacting elapper sections pivoted to and depending from said frame, pneumatic means for raising and lowering said frame, funnel, and clapper sections as a unit, a control device for the pneumatic means, said control device being arranged betweenthe loweriend of the chute and said frame and operable by contact with ware passing through the frame to the clapper sections, and meansfor effecting separation of the clapper sections .t a predetermined point to discharge ware into the carrier element. j

4. Means for checking travel speed ot an' article being transferred between two points by gravity, said means including a trame, a funnel mounted in the frame and axially aligned with the transfer path of the article, coacting clapper sections pivoted to the frame and depending below the .tunnel to hold an article, pneumatic means for moving the funnel, clapper sections and article as a. unit to a point in proximity to one end oi the transfer path, and means for separating the clapper sections at said point to discharge the article.

5. Ina transfer apparatus of the character described, an arrester arranged in an article transfer path to check movement ot ware and then move with the ware a prede- -termined degree, pneumatic means providing positive reciprocation of the arrester,

versing the reciprocating 'mechanisna saidy gate being adapted to actuate at least one cam.

7. The combination with means or'discharging an article and causing it to descend by gravity, of an arresting device in the path of the article shaped to temporarily hold said article, pneumatic means to cause said holding device to move downward with the article-to a predetermined position, meansto automatically actuate said holding device to release the article at said position and permit' it to drop by gravity from the holding device, and cam controlled means to actuate the pneumatic means causing upward movement of the holding device.

8. In an article transfer apparatus, the

combination ofan article holding device,v

means to 'direct an article and permit it to drop .by gravity to said holding device, pneumatic means controlled by the movement of said article to initiate a downward movement of the holding device and permit it to descend vwith the article a predetermined distance, and means to aetuate theholding device and release the article therefrom.

' 9. In an article transfer apparatus, the combination of a pair of pivotally connected clappers, a support therefor, means to hold said clappers'in an article supporting position, means to deliver'` an article to said clappers, pneumatic means controlled by said article to cause a downward movement of the clappers and their support,and automatic means actuated by said downward movementto release the clappers and permit the article to drop by gravity therefrom.

10. The combination of'a fluid operated motor comprising a piston having an up and down movement, an article holder connected to said piston, means for discharging an article and causing it to drop by gravity to said holder, and `a valve controlling said motor and actuated by the descent of .the article to the holder to effect adownward lmovement of the piston and thereby carry said holder and article downward.

11. The combination of a 'fluid operated motor comprising a piston having an up and down movement, an article holder connected to said piston, means for .discharging an article and causing it to drop by gravity to said holder, a valve controlling said motor means automatically operated as the piston completes its downward movement to reverse the motor and return said carrier.

' 12. The combination of a machine operable to deliver articles seriatim and permit them to drop by gravity, an article holder to receive said articles, article actuated pneumatic means to cause said holder to descend a predetermined distance after the article is received therein', discharge said article and return to its initial position ready to receive the next succeeding article.

13. In an article transfer apparatus, the combination of an article holding device, means to direct an article and permit it to drop by gravity to said holding device, means actuated by the movement of said article before it reaches said holding device to initiate a downward movement of the holding device and permit it to descend with the article a predetermined distance, and means for causing release of the article from the holding device.

14. In an article transfer apparatus, the combination of a pair of clappers, a support therefor, means to hold the clappers 1n an article supporting position on their support, means to cause an article to move downward `by gravity to a position in which it is held an article and causing it to move downward by gravity to the holder, and a valve controlling said motor and actuated by said article during its descent before it reaches the holder, to effect a downward movement of the piston and thereby carry said holder and article downward.

16. The combination of a fluid operated motocomprising a piston having an up and down movement, an article holder connected to said piston, and means for discharging an article andcausing it to move downward by gravity to said holder, a valve controlling said motor and actuated by the article during its descent before it has reached the holder, to connectl said motor with a fluid pressure supply and thereby cause the piston to move downward and carry with it said holder and article, means for actuating ,said holder to release the article as the piston completes its descent, and valve actuating means automatically operated 'as the piston completes its descent to reverse the motor and return said holder.

17. The combination of a chute, means for delivering an article to the chute and causing it to move down the chute by gravity, a holder below the chute to receive the article, a prime mover operable to move the holder downward ywith the article therein, and means actuated by the article during its descent through the chute to initiate the opscent through the chute to initiate the operation of'said prime mover before the article reaches the holder, automatic means to actuate theholder to'release the article when the holder has completed its downward movement, and automatic means for revers 'ing the prime mover and causing-it to re turn the vholder to its startingposition after said article has been released.

19.4 The combination of a chute, a machine for delivering articlesseriuatim to the chute and causing them to move downward through the chute by gravity, a holder beneath the chute, amot-or comprising a verti cally moving piston rod and piston, said holder being connected to the piston rod for up and down movement therewith, a

valve. controlling` said motor, means actuated by said articles durngtlieir descent through the chute and before the articles have reached the holder, for actuating said valve and thereby initiating a downward movement of the piston rod and said holder, means actuated by the downward movement of said holderfor causing the latter to release the articles, and means for reversing the motor and causing return movement of Y the holder.

Signed at Toledo, in the county of Lucas and State of Ohio, this 19th" day'of March,

LEONARD D. SOUBIER. 

